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Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna
Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova was the youngest daughter and fourth child of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses of Olga NIkolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, and Maria Nikolaevna and the older sister of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. She was born on June 18th, 1901 and died with her family on July 17th, 1918. Early Life Anastasia was born on June 18th, 1901. When she was born, her extended family was rather dissappointed since she was the fourth girl in a row to be born to Nicholas and Alexandra. Nicholas went out for a long walk before he could see his wife and his newborn daughter. 3 years later, Anastasia's mother gave birth to the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. Childhood Along with her brother and older sisters, Anastasia was raised simply. She was made to sleep on camp cots and take cold baths in silver tubs. They wouldn't sleep on their cots if they were sick. She and her sisters would do needle-work that would be sold for charity. Throughout her life, Anastasia was called "shvibzik" which means "imp". She had a deformation on her left foot. Growing up, Anastasia was energetic and vivacious. She was chubby like Maria and had blue eyes like her brother and sisters. In spite of being very bright, Anastasia was often lazy and could have cared less about school work. She was a gifted actress and was good at mimicking. She loved making witty remarks but they would hit sensitive spots from time to time. Once, when she was teasing ruthlessly, Anastasia's aunt and godmother, Olga Alexanderovna, slapped her across the face. Anastasia didn't cry, instead she ran out of the room with a red face. She would hardly cry. One of the few times was when she rolled up a snowball with a rock inside of it and she threw it at her sister, Tatiana. Tatiana stumbled and fell. This made Anastasia cry. Pranking was one of Anastasia's number one favorite occupations. She would trip servants and play tricks on her tutors. She climbed trees to dizzying hights and would refuse to come down unless her father demanded her to. She was no doubt a tomboy not just for loving mischeif and getting into trouble, she could have cared less how she looked. A 10-year-old Anastasia once ate chocolates without removing her white opera gloves. Anastasia was very close to her sister, Maria. The two shared a room, dressed alike and would always play with eachother. As Olga and Tatiana were called "The Big Pair", she and Maria were called "The Little Pair". Since Anastasia and her sisters didn't get to see children their own age often, they spent their time together. In adolescence, they titled themselves as "OTMA". The letters stood for the first letter of their first names. In spite of having boundless energy, Anastasia had poor health. She suffered from a painful condition of hallux valgus (bunions). She had a weak muscle in her back and was required to have her back massaged twice-weekly. She hated this and would hide away to avoid it. Since Alexei had hemophilia, it could possibly mean that his sisters were carriers. Anastasia was close to her younger brother, Alexei. Due to Alexei's hemophilia, Alexandra had always fretted over her son. Anastasia had as much concern for her brother. Along with her siblings, Anastasia was raised to view the man who "healed" her brother, Grigori Rasputin, as a saint and as "Our Friend". Around Russia, there were rumors that Rasputin not only had an affair with Alexandra but he had sexually abused Anastasia and her sisters. These rumors were false. When Rasputin was murdered, Anastasia and her sisters were visibly upset. World War I and the Russian Revolution When World War I broke out in 1914, Anastasia was 13. Her sisters, Olga and Tatiana, and her mother worked as Red Corss nurses. Anastasia and Maria could not work as nurses since they were not old enough. Instead, the two would visit the the wounded soldiers. They would play checkers, billiard, and would talk to them. One of the guards described Anastasia having the laugh of "a squirrel". Her life began to fall apart when riots broke out, electricity would be cut off and so on. In February of 1917, Nicholas abdicated. House Arrrest Anastasia and her family were put under house arrest when Nicholas returned home in March of 1917. They were transported to Tobolsk. Anastasia and her family were bored at Tobolsk, so they would reinact plays. They were transported to Ekaterinburg, On July 17th, they were murdered. Reports of Survival and Discovery Anastasia's bones were missing when the Romanov remains were found. Before, a woman named Anna Anderson claimed to be Anastasia. A DNA test denied it. Anastasia's remains were found in 2007.